Range-meter



I. STEIN.

RANGEMETER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25, 1920.

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

- .Z'N I/ZNT'OR 11012 Jim)? T 0 all 00mm v names-M TER. 1

Beit known that Ivm Ana, in the county of" Orange and State of California, have'invented new and useful Improvements in Range-Meters, of

which the following is.-a"speoification.

This invention relates 'to imeans' for finding a close approximationof"the .distancebetween an object=to be photographed and a photographic camera 'iand has fen-its object to provide a device of this kind that is at once inexpensive, simple, compact, and that is operable without requirement of mental calculation by the user of the device The. invention consists of the construction, the combination, and-in details and arrangements of the parts, an embodiment of which invention is illustrated in,

and described Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view, partly broken away, and showing the mode of operation and the result produced.

Fig. 4: is a plan, horizontal, sectional view indicating on. a larger scale the pointer and v 1 to the swlngin block 6 on which the mirror 90 1 scale of the device. In the embodiment of shown 2 represents a tubular casing of any suitable dimensions and made of any desired material but preferably is of such size that it may be readily packed in a -car-' to be readily arranged in a stable condition on the top for instance of a camera 0.

The rear side 4 of the camera is cut away as at 5 Fig. 1 and arranged between the top and bottom walls or members there is a block or swinging member 6 tiltable about p s tance is clearly indicated by a number adj aa vertical axis member 7 in the form of opposed screws and the block is cut away S'rnIN, a citizen 5- of the United States, residing at :Santa' the invention as ia w e was: t' if i 0 st. 26. 1 61;

1. Application fiieafretrfi ry 25. 1920. SerialNo. 361,333. 4 1.

arranged. 'mirro' that is exposed through apcut away front window or opening 12 in-,the' front wall 13.-

The. opposite :end of the :casing 12 is :pro;- 6

vided with an oblique wall 14:'; inc1ining.

in aboutthesame generalxdirection as. the I wall-or surface: 8, andLfacin-g :rearwardly.

through a windowfopening 15 in the;.cas-,.

ing.' On this" oblique .wa11 14 there; -is'-jar-: ranged or provided a 'reflecting face; .16with the result that-an image is. cast .fromilthe r ntki g mir ro,r, ;11,lon it din lm J through the tube or casing, the; mirrored: image being then reflected from the mirror 16 so that it is visible as from the of'view of the eye indicated I. The device is operative on well-known 3 point principlesof trigonometry in such'manne'r 1 that when the mirror 11 is turned about its .75 I axis 7 with pect to an object O in the field then when the "image of the object O is: reflected by the mirror 11 to the, mirror 16 the approximate distance between the distance findingdevice and the obj set 0 can be deducted readily from a scales arrangedin lthe bottom adjacent the rear window '15.

The scale is clearly shown on an enlarged ratio in Fig. 4 and. on this scale there are r arranged numerals 20, such, for instance, as.

24 5-681O1525 and so 011 if desired. These numbers forming the scale are spaced at a distance as is predetermined by the position of a pointer 21 that isisecured;

11 is mounte As is well-known, most cameras have a fixed focus beyond -feet but in taking pictures at less distances than 100 feet it is necessary ,to get the proper,

focal distance in orderto secure a. sharp pic- 95 g ture and as the object decreases in distance from the camera the pointer 21 moves in in- I creased ratio as between the. lower distances y in feet as clearly shown by the scale in Fig.

1. Therefore, when an object as O is close. 1100' creases from the meter finder the pointer 21 swings toward the front wall 13 and the dis? cent to which the pointer will rest when by holding the device, as shown in Fig. 2 with 16, and when the object O and the. image" M coincide vertically. It is then only necessary to read the position of the pointer over the scale S and thereafter focus the lens of the camera according to the indicated.dis.--

tance.

The scale S is. clearly'shown in Fig. 1 as so arranged and disposed that an image of'its numerals will be thrown. on toithe. reflector 16 when the numerals will appear in their normal and readily readable arrangement.v Aswill be seen in Fig. 4:, thenumerals are arranged in inverted order on the face of the scale S tosecure their normal exhibition in themirror l6.

Various changes may be made withoutdeparting from claimed.

What-is' claimed is: r

In a device for cameras for indicating the focal distance between an object to be photographed and the observer, the combination the spirit of my invention, as

of; rectangular tube mounted onxthe camera atv right angles to the focal center thereof, openings, in each end of said tube on opposite sides a reflector'set in one of said openings and viewable from the rear in a line of vision between the observer and the object, a movable reflector set opposite the opening in the opposite end of said tube and nadaptedtobe adjusted to cast a reflection scale being arranged to be reflectedtfin the.

first named reflector with. the numerals.

thereon arranged to read in normal position 7 by the reflection.- 1 V i r In testimony: whereof Ihave signed 'my name to this specification,

7 I *IVIE' STEIN. V 

